


Chubby

by Spettrocoli



Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Birthday Party, Chubby, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Language of Flowers, Love, Love Confessions, Reader-Insert, fem!reader - Freeform, plus size, plus size reader, reader is female
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 19:19:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19235473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spettrocoli/pseuds/Spettrocoli
Summary: Chris is an asshole with the reader but he soon regrets it when he falls in love with her because of her intelligence and kindness.





	Chubby

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language so feel free to correct any mistake and I would love to know what do you think about it.
> 
> Tumblr: Spettrocoli  
> Twitter: Spettrocoli

“Daffodils is one of the most famous poems by William Wordsworth. However, he is famous especially for Lyrical Ballads. Whom did he write them with, Christoffer?”  
You turned your head to the boy just a few desks away on your left who seemed deep in conversation with his best friend. Hearing his name, his head snapped up to look at the teacher. “Uhm... Blake?” he replied unsure.  
“It’s not Blake, Y/N?”  
“Coleridge but the majority of the contributions were by Wordsworth. They published it anonymously in 1798” you said bringing your attention back to her.  
“Right. For the next lesson I want all of you to analyse the Preface to Lyrical Ballads” she announced when the bell rang. Most of the students ran out. You spotted Chris and William getting up from their desks talking. After picking up your book and notebook, you walked over there and stopped in front of them. They didn’t seem to notice you, until you cleared your throat. They stopped talking and looked at you confused.  
“Hi” you greeted them timidly. “I... I thought you could use some help with English literature and I...” you began looking at Chris before he interrupted you. “I don’t need your help” he said rude, leaving without another word, followed by William, who gave you an apologetic look. You sighed and left as well.

You sat outside with your lunch. Being new at Nissen you didn’t have any friend yet and you didn’t want to occupy a table in the cafeteria only for you, so you spent you lunch break outside reading or doing some homework. You were never great at making new friends; in addition to that, you were a little chubby, too much for the standards of this new school. You had already seen some girls looking at you disgusted and heard some mean comments but certainly it wasn’t the first time, you had learnt long ago to ignore them and act as if they didn’t hurt you.  
You heard a group of people laughing, you raised your head from your book and you saw the Penetrators. Among them you spotted Chris and you admired his smile before shaking your head and going back to reading. You had noticed him the first day of school, he was very handsome, and completely out of your league. Most definitely he wasn’t into chubby girls. Still, that didn’t keep you from falling for him. It didn’t matter how hard you tried to convince yourself you shouldn’t have, you couldn’t really control your feelings.  
While you were reading, your phone chimed, signalling the arrival of a new message.

From Mom:  
Hey, how is it going?

You typed a brief answer and decided to check the notifications on Facebook. There were a couple from your friends back in Tromsø who had tagged you in some funny posts that made you smile. Then you saw that that evening there would be an event near you to which many of the students of the school were going. You weren’t invited but on the page there was the address and everything you needed to know. You thought it wouldn’t hurt to go to a party. If nothing came out of it you would still have free drinks, which wasn’t bad.

That evening you dressed up nicely and greeted your parents before leaving for the party. Thanks to Google Maps, you managed to get to the place without getting lost. The party had already begun when you arrived. You had to slalom to avoid people who were either drunk or making out to get to the kitchen and have a beer. With your bottle in hand, you wandered about before finally finding a spot where to sit. You sat there, drinking and looking around when a girl approached you.  
“Can I sit here?” she asked politely, with a big smile on her painted lips.  
“Yes, sure!” you said, mirroring her smile.  
“I’m Noora” she introduced herself offering her hand to you. “Y/N” you said shaking it.  
“You’re new, right?”  
You nodded. “Yes, I moved from Tromsø last month because my dad found a new job here” you explained sipping your beer.  
“I arrived at the beginning of the year but I know how hard it is being the new girl.”  
“Yeah, it’s difficult to make friends when everyone already knows each other” you said with a hint of smile.  
“At least you know someone who invited you at the party.”  
You smiled and shook your head. “I came uninvited, I saw the event on Facebook and I came for the alcohol” you explained showing your beer to her.  
“Well, it this case, I’ll be your new friend.” She smiled. “If it isn’t strange for you to have a friend who is at the first year” she added. You shook your head smiling. “No, definitely not a problem.”  
“Cheers to this new friendship!” you exclaimed raising your bottle. “Cheers!” she repeated without any drink in her hand.  
You two talked some more and exchanged numbers before William came to ask her to dance.  
“Hey!” she greeted him with heart-shaped eyes kissing him. “You guys know each other, right?” she asked looking between you and William.  
“Yes, we have some classes together... Y/N, right?” William said offering his hand and you shook it. “Yes, and you are William” you replied mirroring his smile.  
“Hey, look I wanted to say that I’m sorry about Chris, he is too proud to accept any help, especially from strangers” he said looking very sorry. “Don’t worry, it was stupid of me to ask” you reassured him shaking your head. “Anyway it was nice of you” he commented earning a shrug of your shoulders. “It’s nothing, really” you assured.  
“Let’s go dancing” he said to Noora before looking back at you. “It was nice to meet you, Y/N.”  
“Same.”

The day after, at school you ate with Noora and her friends. They were very nice and had accepted you in their group without any problem. Vilde was so worried you weren’t part of a Russ bus it was actually funny.  
“You could ask the Penetrators” she proposed and you shook your head. “Oh my God no, I barely know William, that would be embarrassing, plus I’m not really fond of this tradition, I think it is merely an expression of consumerism. Also, I think it’s stupid to have never-ending parties when you should study for the finals” you explained.  
“So you’re not coming to our party on the bus, tomorrow?” said a voice from behind you. You brought a hand to your heart which was beating faster. “You scared me!” you informed William, turning to look at him. He kissed Noora, who was at your side. “Sorry, didn’t mean to” he said with an amused smile.  
“We are coming, anyway!” Vilde hurried to say. William raised his gaze to look at her. “Yeah? Great!”  
“You should come as well” Noora said to you. “Yes, finals are so far away!” William agreed.  
“Yeah, but mid-terms not”  
“Will, leave this nerd alone” Chris interjected from behind his friend. You hadn’t even noticed him. William glared at him earning an eye roll, while the girls looked at you worried you could take it bad.  
“Schistad doesn’t want any nerd to his party?” you asked mockingly, looking at him. “Then I’m coming” you told William. Chris snorted annoyed. “What happened to ‘It’s stupid to have parties when you should study’?” he asked irritated.  
You looked at him faking a smile. “I don’t know how to tell you, but I’m not the one that needs to study her ass off to avoid failing at the exams” you retorted. The girls gasped while William lowered his gaze to hide an amused smile, earning a nudge from an offended Chris. “Sorry, you asked for that” he told him, not looking sorry one bit. Chris shook his head and left.  
“Sorry girls” William said before kissing Noora again and following his friend. When he reached him outside he tried to stop him grabbing his arm but Chris freed it. “Chris, come on!”  
“Why did you do that?” he asked angry, turning to face his friend.  
“What? Inviting them? They would have come anyway, you know that” William said.  
“Yeah, but not her!” Chris retorted.  
“Why do you hate her so much?” William was confused. She didn’t seem that bad after all.  
“Because she is a fucking know-it-all!”  
William rolled his eyes. “You mean she is intelligent and keeps up with you and you’re not used to it” he corrected him. “No, that’s not...” Chris began.  
“It doesn’t matter.” William interjected. “Look, you don’t have to talk with her or dance with her, you can just ignore her, just... try not to be an asshole? Anyway, I think it was nice of her to offer you help” he said patiently.  
“Whatever, let’s go.”

The party wasn’t that bad, the beer was actually good and the Penetrators, apart from Chris, weren’t presumptuous assholes as you had expected. You were having a good time talking with a couple of them. However, you weren’t drunk enough to miss the death glares Chris kept directing at you from across the bus. He had been sitting on the sofa for as long as you had been at the party, a bottle of something in his hand that he regularly brought to his thin lips. Not even Eva had been able to take his attention away from you for more than a couple of minutes. After almost two hours, you decided that you had had enough of his staring. You excused yourself from the boys you were talking with and went sitting next to him, taking a new bottle on the way. He finally looked away.  
“Why this scowl? Am I ruining your little party, Schistad?” you asked mockingly. His jaw tensed but he didn’t answer. You smiled. “I understand: you’re trying to ignore me. Breaking news: staring at me for two hours hoping I died of a slow and painful death is not doing the trick” you noticed sipping on your beer.  
“Fuck off.”  
“Now, that’s how a eight-years-old would answer, may I ask you to reach a level of communication that suits your age or is it too much for you?” you said looking at the party around you before having your gaze landing on him.  
“What is it that you want from me? Sex? Is it sex that you want? Because if it is the case, I can give it to you. I will have sex with you if that’s what it takes for you to leave me alone” he burst, finally turning to look at you. You looked back at him astounded for some seconds before you burst out laughing. He looked at you confused. After a couple of minutes you stopped and noticed his expression. “Wait, were you being serious?” you asked, unable to hold back another laugh. You shook your head finally calming down.  
“Sorry, I can’t believe you really think that every girl that talks to you is interested in having sex with you” you explained. “Actually it’s pretty sad. It means nobody has ever done anything for you without wanting something back and that’s why you think I want something from you” you added thoughtful. “Or that you think that you are so irresistible everyone wants to have sex with you, which is funny” you continued speculating. “Anyway, I’m sorry to be once more herald of bad news” you began amused “but not everyone who talks with you wants to have sex with you, some may actually want to know you. I just wanted to help, nothing else. We should always help each other, what’s the point in being part of the society if we don’t? We could as well go living alone in the desert” you concluded bitterly. You shook your head and without waiting for an answer, you got up from the sofa and left the party, leaving him sitting in the same spot, stunned.

You had just reached your locker when Noora greeted you.  
“Hey” you said with a smile.  
“Is everything okay? You left the party early and I saw you talking with Chris. Did he say something offensive?” she asked worried. You shook your head. “He asked me if I would have left him alone if he agreed to have sex and I told him that not everyone who talks to him wants to have sex with him.” You shrugged. Noora looked at you agape. “He didn’t...” You nodded. “He did.”  
Noora was about to say something when two girls you had never seen walked past you whispering. “She is so fat” one of them said looking subtly at you. “How does she even go out? I would be so embarrassed” the other added.  
“You know what?” you said looking at them and making them stop. “This isn’t fat, this is intelligence. It doesn’t fit all in my head and spreads in the rest of my body” you paused for a moment. “Oh... wait, I think I should tell you what intelligence is, since you clearly don’t have any” you added.  
They looked surprised at you before walking away whispering “weirdo.” You rolled your eyes and turned to your locker.  
“Are you okay?” Noora asked looking worried at you. You nodded. “It’s nothing, it happens all the time. I stopped taking it as an offence and I just take it as an indicator of how stupid some people are so I know who to avoid” you explained shrugging, unlocking your locker. As soon as it opened, a folded piece of paper fell on the floor. You and Noora looked at it confused before you picked it up. “What is it?” Noora asked both curious and confused. You shrugged and opened it. ‘Sorry.’ You showed it to her.  
You looked around and spotted Chris down the corridor looking at you. Noora turned to see what you were looking at. You raised the piece of paper to show him and you balled it up. He bit his lip. You took the books you needed and closed your locker. Then you walked confidently towards him, followed by Noora. You threw the piece of paper in the bin on your way. You stopped a moment in front of him. “Grow some balls and ask me properly or you don’t want to be seen with me?” Without waiting for a reply, you walked away.  
When you were far enough, Noora spoke. “That was great to see but I have to go in the other direction” she confessed. You giggled. “We are taking a longer route.”

“You were right.”  
“Okay... what about?” William asked looking confused at his best friend.  
“I was an asshole and I shouldn’t have treated her like that but I’m not used to have to do with girls who are more intelligent than me” he explained.  
“Okay, I’m happy you admitted it” William said patting his shoulder. “Have you apologized to her already?”  
“I... tried to but she wasn’t very happy...” he admitted.  
“What did you tell her?” The other looked at him confused.  
“Uhm... I put a note in her locker.”  
“A note in her locker? What are you, four?” William asked shocked.  
“Okay. What should I do, then?”  
“Talk to her.”  
“I don’t know what to tell her” Chris retorted.  
“Tell her the truth.”

You were sitting on the windowsill revising for chemistry when someone stopped near you. You looked up seeing Chris standing there, Penetrators hoodie and all. You looked at him interrogatively.  
“I wanted to apologize to you because I had been an asshole when you only wanted to be nice with me.” He looked down the corridor. You followed his gaze and found his friends encouraging him. You looked confused. He turned back to you. “I only did that because I’m not used to have to do with girls that are smarter than me and... and I like it very much... I mean, the fact that you are intelligent...” he added hesitating, sounding unnatural.  
“Okay... I accept your apologies” you said going back to your book, considering the conversation over.  
“Okay” he said after a moment, before walking back to his friends.

Chris didn’t stop looking at you from afar, almost as if he was scared to come and talk to you. You greeted him every time you saw him and he waved back. The first time it happened, he was so surprised he turned to be sure you were greeting him. Now, however, it had become normal and he had pushed himself as far as smiling at you. You always reciprocated the smile. Once, after a lesson, he stopped you outside the classroom and you looked confused at him.  
“Hey... Is everything okay?” you asked looking curious at him.  
“Yes, yes, everything is fine. I...” he started insecure before gaining some courage. “I wanted to invite you on a date” he said finally. You looked at him with a blank expression for a minute or two. “No” you finally blurted out and before he could ask something you were gone. He looked at William who had been waiting for him down the corridor and he shook his head.

A rose. This had to be a joke. A stupid red rose was waiting for you at your locker. No note or anything else. Not that you needed it to know who was it from. You threw it away.  
Next day it was a burgundy rose and a poem by Jacques Prévert:

“Three matches one by one struck in the night  
The first to see your face in its entirety  
The second to see your eyes  
The last to see your mouth  
And the darkness all around to remind me of all these  
As I hold you in my arms.”  
Was he really using the language of flowers and a poem to say you were beautiful? You shook your head and threw away the rose and the poem.  
The following day it was a red tulip and the first stanza from another poem by Prévert:

“This love  
So violent  
So fragile  
So tender  
So hopeless  
This love  
As beautiful as the day  
And as wretched as the weather  
When the weather is wretched.”

Another day, another flower. Moss rose and the first stanza from Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda:

‘I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,  
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.  
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,  
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.’  
They both went directly into the bin with the others. It didn’t stop. Every day a new flower and a new poem, which you always threw away.  
This time it was a sunflower together with some verses from Sonnet XVII by Shakespeare:

“Who will believe my verse in time to come,  
If it were filled with your most high deserts?  
Though yet heaven knows it is but as a tomb  
Which hides your life, and shows not half your parts.  
If I could write the beauty of your eyes,  
And in fresh numbers number all your graces,  
The age to come would say 'This poet lies;  
Such heavenly touches ne'er touched earthly faces.’”

You rolled your eyes. Your favourite flower and your favourite poem? How did he do that? He had probably just been lucky. You bit your lower lip trying to decide if throwing them away as always or not. While you were thinking, Noora arrived and greeted you with a huge smile. You were caught off guard.  
“Hey” you said surprised.  
“Who is this from?” she asked pointing at the sunflower.  
You shook your head. “It’s nothing” you replied putting the flower and the poem in your locker.  
“Nothing? To me it seems more like someone sent you a flower and a poem” she noticed while you took your books and notebooks from the locker. You shrugged and closed it. “Yeah, some wonderful words someone else wrote and a flower bought at the flower shop near the school but no actions to demonstrate anything. Can’t believe some girls really fall for this” you commented. “Some girls fall for a couple of nice words, a good fuck and a stupid hoodie, so I can’t really expect much” you added starting walking to class followed by Noora who didn’t disagree with what you had said.  
From afar, leaned against his locker, Chris smiled to himself. You hadn’t thrown the flower and the poem away that day.

During the break you were out, talking and laughing with the girls when Eva spotted Chris and a couple of his friends coming towards you. “Do you think he is coming here?” she asked. All of you turned to look in the direction she was looking at. “Why is he coming here?” Sana asked perplexed. Noora shrugged. “I bet we will find out soon.”  
He stopped right in front of you. “Hey, how are you?” he asked completely ignoring the others.  
“Fine... thanks?” you replied confused. “How can I help you?” you asked.  
He licked his lips. “Would you go on a date with me?” he asked hopeful. The girls looked at him surprised before turning to you waiting for you to say something.  
“No” you replied right away.  
“Why?” he asked sighing.  
“Because do you really think I would fall for this? The fuckboy that suddenly falls in love with the nerd? This is not a rom-com. Try with someone else. There are plenty of girls who would fall for less than flowers and poems. It would take you much less effort.”  
He snorted. “Don’t you know it’s much more fun to conquer something with a lot of efforts? And anyway it’s you I want, not other girls.”  
“Where did you take it from? ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’?” you asked raising your eyebrows.  
He was about to reply but you stopped him. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever you say, the answer is ‘no’.” The bell rang and you left for class without saying ‘goodbye’ to anyone.  
The girls were dumbfounded by what they had just seen. “What did just happen?” Girl Chris asked still shocked. “She just rejected Penetrator Chris, I love that girl” Sana replied smiling happily.  
“Thanks for the support” Penetrator Chris told her.  
“Well, you are an asshole” she replied shrugging before saying goodbye and leaving as well.

You were laying on your bed, the girls sat or laid around you. You were drinking and talking about random things.  
“So, I talked with William today,” Noora began soon interrupted by Sana. “Now, that’s news” she said jokingly earning a light slap from her. “And I found out something interesting” she continued.  
“What is it?” Vilde could barely hold back the curiosity.  
“Well, apparently, today wasn’t the first time Chris asked Y/N out. It already happened once and she rejected him and he has been leaving flowers and poems at her locker for more than two weeks now” she said looking at you. You rolled your eyes. “He is still an asshole” you replied. “You go girl” Sana cheered high fiving you earning a smile from you.  
“Okay, but maybe he is changed...” Noora tried. “In two weeks?” you asked sceptic.  
“Why do you think he asked you out if he is not serious? He is not the type of guy who goes on dates” she noticed. You shrugged. “A bet with his friends? Like... let’s see if I can make the rigid nerd fall in love or if I can fuck her? Or maybe to humiliate me?” you speculated.  
“I don’t think so, William said he is serious and there is a rumour at school that he is no longer sleeping around. Plus, everyone can see how he looks at you all the times: as if you were the most beautiful creature walking the Earth” she said with such emotion, she had Vilde and Eva sighing dreamily, while you and Sana exchange a glance holding back a laugh.  
“Sure, you convinced me” you told her nodding. “Really?” she asked surprised and happy. “No” you deadpanned making Sana and Chris burst out laughing and earning a hit with a pillow by Noora.

The following day, on your locker there was an entire bouquet of red roses with a single bluebell.  
“It seems like he doesn’t want to give up” Noora commented. You rolled your eyes and stopped the first girl that passed by to give her he bouquet. “It is from Penetrator Chris” you told her, pointing at him who was as always looking at you from his locker. She was incredibly surprised and happy. He was surprised but amused all the same. You gave him a fake smile.  
The next day you came prepared. You arrived a little earlier and left a striped carnation on his locker. When he arrived, he was surprised to find you already at your locker looking at him. Holding in his hands a little bouquet of daisies, common dandelion and scorpion grasses, he picked up the flower you had left for him and walked towards you giving you the bouquet. “I’m not giving up” he informed you before walking past you. You stopped him holding him by the wrist. He looked down at your hand around it and smiled. Following his gaze, you noticed it and let go as if you had burnt yourself. Still smiling he looked up at you. “Yes?”  
You were silent for a moment; you had forgotten what you wanted to say. “Oh? Uhm... How did you find out about the language of flower?” you asked raising the bouquet a little, as if for a clearer explanation of what you had said.  
Still smiling, he leaned forward. “I’m not telling you” he whispered, once he was near your ear.  
You snorted. “That isn’t fair” you complained. He shrugged and started to walk away once more, that stupidly cute smile still on his lips. “Fine, I’ll tell you if you come on a date with me.”  
“Never happening” you replied right away, even though you really wanted to know. You were curious and he knew that.  
“Then you’ll never know” he said making you roll your eyes.  
“Go to hell, Schistad” you said louder, he was going further, walking backwards to look at you.  
“How could I live for the eternity without you by my side, Angel?” he joked.  
“You didn’t... That was awful, not even in the worst rom-com” you commented. The only answer you received was his loud laugh. He turned and continued towards his class. You turned as well and found all the girls lined up in front of you with different expressions.  
“What was that?” Girl Chris asked shocked.  
“I don’t know but these two have more chemistry than Noora and William” Eva commented as if you weren’t exactly in front of her.  
“I don’t know how to take it, but I agree” Noora said nodding.  
“You know I’m right in front of you?” you asked pointing at yourself.  
“Hard to miss such a whale” commented a girl passing by. You ignored her but Noora glared at her and moved towards her but you shook your head.  
“Yes, we know, and that’s exactly the point. Why aren’t you in his arms?” Sana said catching you off guard.  
“I thought you didn’t like him and that you considered him an asshole” you said feeling a little betrayed by her.  
“I don’t like him and he is an asshole, but he seems different with you and you two are very cute” she explained earning an eye roll from you.  
“If even Sana says so, you really need to have at least a date with him” Noora tried her luck.  
“Sure, I will go on a date with him on the 30 of February.”  
“How cute, you want to have a date with him near Valentine’s day” Vilde said enthusiastically earning looks of disbelief from the others. “What?” she asked looking at them.

You were leaving the school to go home when you heard William calling you. You turned surprised and waited for him. “Hi... is everything okay?” you asked furrowing your eyebrows.  
“Yes, everything is perfectly fine” he assured you stopping in front of you. “I just wanted to tell you that in two weeks it will be Chris’ birthday and we are organizing a surprise party for him. Do you want to come?” he asked expectantly. You were speechless.  
“Wait... What... Why are you inviting me?” you asked confused.  
He smiled amused. “He would be very happy to have you there.”  
“Why would he want me there?”  
This time he laughed. “I thought it was clear: he likes you. I mean all the flowers and poems, that’s not something he usually does” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
“He doesn’t like me. He is just playing” you replied serious.  
“Look, I’m his best friend...” You interrupted him. “That’s exactly why I can’t believe you.”  
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, it would be very nice if you came, Noora is going to be there as well. Think about it, it’s all I ask.” You sighed and nodded earning a smile.

“You need to come to the party” Noora said leaning against the locker next to yours. “Hi” you said not looking up from the gladiolus in your hands. You sighed and shook your head before looking at her who was already looking at you. “Is something wrong?” she asked worried. You nodded. “I’m not coming to the party” you blurted. “I have to study” you added as an excuse.  
“That’s not why you are not coming to the party” she stated. You shook your head. There was no point in denying it. “I’m tired of this game.”  
“Tired as in ‘if it goes on I will give up soon’ or in ‘I have the house invaded by flowers and I have no idea where to put the others’?” she said managing to get a small smile out of you.  
“As in it is becoming too serious for me to be just a game but that’s all it is for him” you explained.  
“Why do you say so? How do you know it is not serious for him as well?”  
“Because he takes nothing seriously, even less girls” you said.  
“People change, Y/N.”  
“Not overnight” you noticed making her sigh. You were so stubborn and the worst thing was that you were actually right.  
“You will never know if you don’t give him a chance to demonstrate that he is serious.  
“And have my heart broken? No thanks.” You took the books from the locker, put the flower inside and closed it.  
“You don’t know if he will ever break your heart and anyway, whoever could do it, are you not going to commit because you are afraid of the bad things that could happen?” she tried to resonate.  
“Maybe I won’t” you replied stubbornly.  
“This is stupid and you are not” she said serious. “Just think about it” she added before leaving.

You stopped picking the flowers he left for you but he didn’t stop putting them over your locker.  
Every day you looked at them thinking twice before deciding not to pick them. Every day the old ones were replaced by new ones. You had even stopped to wave and smiling at him, you had actually stopped looking at him. You had started ignoring him, hoping he would get tired and stop with the flowers. It didn’t work. He started putting notes in your locker, probably asking some kind of explanation, not that you knew, you didn’t open any of them. He had tried to talk to you but somehow you had always managed to avoid him. After a week of you avoiding and ignoring him, he was starting to lose hope. His face resembled that of an unhappy puppy when Noora saw him walking in the yard for the break. He stopped in front of William and her muttering an “hi”.  
“Nothing new?” William asked, already knowing the answer. He shook his head.  
Noora took a deep breath. “Okay, this is like betraying one of my best friends, it’s unfair and I shouldn’t do that ... but it’s for her own good...” she started earning the attention of both of them. William looked curious at her, while Chris was hopeful. “We... could trick her into having a date with you but she would hate me afterwards, so you have to make it worth the effort” she warned Chris, who immediately nodded.

You had no idea why you agreed to this. Why in the world would Noora want to study at Slottsparken you didn’t know. It was beautiful for sure and it wasn’t raining but it wasn’t sunny either. Luckily the place wasn’t too far from your house, so you were walking there. As soon as you got to the statue in the middle of the park where you had agreed to meet, you texted her, not seeing her anywhere. Minutes passed by and she hadn’t reply yet. You sighed. You were uncertain if you should have called her yet, maybe she was on her way. Before you could do anything, you heard a familiar voice calling you.  
“Y/N? Is that you?” Chris asked getting closer. You couldn’t believe it. “Uhm... no?” you said sarcastic, typing another message to your friend, avoiding to look at the boy in front of you. He snorted. “What are you doing here?” he asked curious.  
“Waiting for Noora, we should study together” you said rolling your eyes.  
“Oh... uhm... I don’t think she will come, she and William were... busy when I left them.”  
You snorted annoyed. “Fine, then, I’m going home” you said determined.  
“No, wait!” he hurried to say, panicking.  
“What?” you asked coarse.  
He was taken aback and you felt guilty. “I... we need to talk” he said.  
“What about?” you asked quietly. You already knew the answer.  
“About you ignoring me.”  
“Fine, I’m listening.” You crossed your arms waiting for him to talk.  
“Come, let’s go for a walk” he said signalling with his head to follow him.  
“Is this you trying to take me on a date or what?” you asked going back to your harsh tone.  
“What if? Don’t you think I deserve a chance?” he asked starting to get frustrated.  
“No, assholes don’t deserve any chance.”  
“I’m not being an asshole. I was at the beginning, how I treated you was awful but I said I was sorry and you accepted the apology. After that I was never an asshole again with you, was I?”  
You slowly shook your head.  
“I’ve changed for you but you have to give me the chance to prove it” he concluded.  
You sighed and after thinking for a moment you spoke. “Fine, only tell me: did Noora plan this?”  
He hesitated. “Don’t be mad at her, please.”  
You sighed once more. “Where are you taking me?” you asked already expecting the most obvious cliché.  
“Akershus Castle, have you ever been there?” he replied surprising you. You shook your head.  
“How comes?” I thought princesses lived in castles” he said smiling amused, already expecting your reaction.  
“I can’t believe it, I’m leaving you here!” you exclaimed making him laugh. He shook his head. “I promise, no more jokes” he said offering you his hand. You looked suspicious at it for a while. “It’s not sweaty” he assured you. You rolled your eyes and took it.  
“Your jokes are even worst then your personality, I didn’t think that was possible but you really are surprising, Christoffer” you commented making him laugh while guiding you towards the castle. “Please, don’t call me that.”  
“What? Your name?”  
“Exactly, only the teachers use that, and my mother when she is angry” he explains and you smiled maliciously, knowing you could use that to irritate him.  
“Poor Christoffer” you said mockingly.  
“I hate you.”  
“Great, I hate you too! We can end the date here” you proposed cheerfully.  
“No way!”  
You snorted. “I gave it a shot.”  
“Anyway, if we are doing it...” you began. “Which we are,” he interjected. “Then you have to tell me how did you find out about the language of flowers” you said looking at him. He shook his head. “You didn’t come on the date because you wanted.”  
“That is exactly why. I need to be refunded because I was tricked into coming to the date and, anyway, that wasn’t a condition” you retorted.  
“Fine. I found on internet the research you had made in the old school about it” he said looking at you to see your reaction.  
“Oh... so you are a stalker now?”  
He laughed. “Uhm... yeah, apparently.”  
You talked some more heading to the castle. He wasn’t that bad and you almost forgot why you were so reluctant at the beginning.  
“Here we are” he said showing you the castle before you two entered to buy two tickets. “I can buy my own” you informed him making him roll his eyes when he motioned for you to put your wallet away. “I know, I’m not doing it because you are a girl but because it’s something nice to do” he explained giving you your ticket.  
“Fine” you replied sighing and taking it. He smiled and signalled you to precede him out of the ticket office. “This is also out of kindness, right?” you said making him smile. “Always. You should know that, I’m the kindest person on Earth.”  
“Sure, and I’m a giraffe” you commented. “That makes perfect sense” he said amusedly.  
“Okay, Mr. Guide, tell me something about this castle” you requested.  
“I know nothing about it” he said sincerely.  
“How comes? Didn’t you come here with your father every weekend for some great father-son time that you now miss so much?” you suggested.  
“No, I’m sorry, I’ve only been here with the school years ago, so no family anecdotes about the castle, but I can invent some of them” he proposed amused.  
“Please, do.”  
“Uhm... okay, so, once I was running around and I literally ran into the king, now we are best friends, we have dinner together every Sunday” he said proudly.  
“Really? I’ve never seen you at our family dinners” you joked. “I’m the most handsome one, it is easy to spot me” he replied. “Bullshit, Marius is the most handsome” you retorted earning a shocked expression from him. “You aren’t serious!” You burst out laughing and shook you head. “I’m not.”  
“I was seriously beginning to question your tastes.”  
You pulled a face. “Well, I like you, so my taste is not that great” you blurted before you could stop yourself. When you realized what you had just said, your eyes widened. “What?” he asked smiling. “Nothing!” you hurried to say. “Oh no, that was definitely something that I heard very well” he said.  
“Jesus, forget that” you said blushing embarrassed and covering your face with your hands.  
“Never” he said laughing and delicately taking your hands away from you face by your wrists.  
“Now you’ll let it go to your head, won’t you?” you said.  
“Obviously I will!” he replied laughing. “I think I will tattoo it somewhere. What do you think?”  
“The forehead is perfect but you should leave it free to write ‘idiot’ there” you suggested making him laugh again.  
The visit went on like this for the rest of the afternoon. You were having so much fun you were surprised when you found out how late it was.  
“Ice cream?” you proposed leaving the castle. “Sure!” he replied surprised you weren’t hiding the fact that you liked spending time with him.  
You stopped on your way back to his car, near the park where you two had meet that afternoon. You paid the ice cream for both repeating what he had said before. “I’m doing it because it is something nice to do.”  
He rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop a smile from forming on his lips. You walked back eating and talking about anything.  
“Why the castle?” you suddenly asked curious.  
“Mh...” He licked a drop of melted ice cream which was almost falling on his hand. “Because I wanted to... surprise you? And I thought you might like it since you love history so much” he explained. You continued eating thoughtfully. “Did it work?” he asked hesitantly since you didn’t answer.  
“What do you think?” You were expressionless.  
He smiled and he was back to his usual secure self. “I think you loved it, I mean, how could you not? You were with me!”  
You burst out laughing and shook your head. “You’re incorrigible.”  
“Yes, but you like me!” he exclaimed triumphantly.  
“I hate you” you retorted making him laugh. “Nah, you don’t” he replied.  
“I won’t speak if not in the presence of my lawyer.”  
Half an hour later, his car stopped in front of your building. You didn’t know what to say or do, so you sat there for a while without talking. When you finally decided you had to say something, you turned to look at him and started talking exactly at same time he did. You both laughed.  
“You go first” he said.  
You nodded. “I just wanted to thank you. It was a surprisingly nice afternoon.”  
“Surprisingly?” he repeated feigning hurt. You snorted amused.  
“I think we should do this again” he said leaning slowly towards you to kiss you but you backed.  
“Do you think you deserve a kiss for a ticket for the castle and an ice cream I paid?” you joked, hoping he didn’t take it too bad. “I would like to do this again, maybe you will earn a kiss next time” you added.  
He seemed taken aback by your reject at the beginning but then he smiled and nodded. “Sure I will” he said winking. You rolled your eyes hiding a smile and kissed him on the chick before leaving the car and entering the building. As soon as you closed the heavy wooden door behind you, you picked your phone you had completely forgotten for the entire afternoon and unlocked it.  
There were way too many messages from the group chat. You ignored them and texted Noora instead.

To Noora:  
I hate you

You started climbing the stairs when you received a message.

From Noora:  
Was it worth at least?

To Noora:  
Definitely

From Noora:  
I want all the details tomorrow.

“Okay, wait here for one second” William demanded.  
“Will, what the hell...?” a blindfolded Chris asked confused.  
“I have to open the door” his best friend explained.  
“You know I know we are at yours’, right?”  
William sighed. “I know” he replied guiding him inside, switching the lights on and taking off the blindfold.  
A crowd of people suddenly burst out roaring leaving him a little dazed. When he understood what was happening, he smiled widely looking around at all those people and at the decorations around the room.  
Before he could realize everything, however, people started hugging him and wishing him happy birthday and the music was turned on. At some point he found himself with a glass of wine and a party hat on his head without knowing how.  
You were dancing with your friends watching him from afar waiting for a quieter moment to approach him. After half an hour he was finally left alone for a while and you decided it was your time, so you excused yourself from the girls and made your way towards him still on the door. He was thanking William and he hadn’t seen you yet but when his friend did, he decided it was time for him to go dancing and he left giving you a smile that you reciprocated.  
“Are you old enough now to become king?” you asked when you were near enough to be heard.  
He turned and his smile became even wider.  
“Only if I marry a princess.”  
“Can’t really see one around here but I suppose I can find one for you” you said looking around as if you hoped to see a princess in the room.  
He let out a little laugh. “I didn’t know you would come” he said biting his lower lip.  
“I’m representing the king here, I had to be here” you said still joking.  
“Thanks” he said sincere.  
“You don’t have to thank me, I haven’t wished you happy birthday, yet” you replied smiling.  
“You better doing it or I will have to complain with the king” he warned you jokingly.  
“Please don’t!” you exclaimed hugging him forcefully making him laugh.  
“Happy birthday, Chris” you said leaving a kiss on his cheek.  
“That’s it? A kiss on the cheek? Don’t I deserve something more on my birthday?” he asked pouting.  
“Do you?” you asked teasingly. He quickly nodded.  
You bit your lip looking at the people in the room for a moment to see if anyone was looking at you. Everybody was having fun not even glancing at the two of you. You looked back at Chris and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He looked at you unimpressed.  
“What?” you asked, unable to hide a smile. “That wasn’t a real kiss” he complained.  
“How so?” You were unable to hide the amusement in your voice.  
“I could have imagined it!”  
You rolled your eyes. “Fine. The future king is never happy” you commented making him smile.  
You kissed him again, this time it lasted longer and he didn’t waste the occasion to deepen the kiss. You heard people cheering and interrupted the kiss to see what was happening.  
The girls and the Penetrators were cheering loudly at you too. You blushed embarrassed and hid your face against Chris’ chest while he laughed and held you tight.

You had been dating Chris for more than two months now and you were on cloud nine. However, you still couldn’t believe it. You and the rest of the school. This was definitely a record for Chris, who now had eyes only for you. Many girls were envious of what you had and they didn’t understand why you. You weren’t the most beautiful nor the slimmest girl in the school, so why Chris had chose you was a mystery to them. Some of them still tried to hit on him but he would kindly reject them, some others loved to list all your flaws, especially when you were around. At the beginning you didn’t care, you just ignored them. The mean comments couldn’t hurt you in your bubble of happiness. However, after a while they began to penetrate your bubble making it dissolve slowly. You began doubting and asking yourself why he had chosen you, he deserved so much more. Your doubts weren’t as strong when it was only the two of you but you slowly began to distance yourself from him till you completely ignored him and his call and messages and skipped school. He didn’t understand, he didn’t remember doing or saying something wrong to deserve this treatment. At the beginning he had tried to have some explanation from you about your behaviour but you always managed to avoid answering.  
The day you didn’t come to school even if you had a test, he knew things had gone way too far. After the test, he went straight to Noora.  
“What did I do? Why is she avoiding and ignoring me?” he asked interrupting her conversation with Sana.  
She peeked quickly at William who had followed his friend and was now standing behind him. He nodded encouraging. She sighed. “You have done nothing wrong. This isn’t about you, this is about everything many girls say since when you two are together” she explained.  
He looked at her confused. “What... what do you mean? What do they say?”  
“They make a lot of mean comments about her. They say she is too chubby, she is not pretty enough for you and that soon you will get tired of her. She didn’t mind at the beginning, but after a while they started getting to her making her feel insecure and wrong. It doesn’t matter what we tell her” she concluded.  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“She asked us to not tell you anything.”  
He looked around at the corridor full of people.  
“Hear me out, assholes” he shouted making everyone turn to him, stopping talking and doing anything else. “If I hear someone else has said something mean about my girlfriend I’ll make you pay for it. She is the most beautiful and the most intelligent girl in this school and you shouldn’t even be allowed to breathe the same air she breathes” he said before storming off leaving everyone looking shocked at him.

You were lying in your bed watching Downton Abbey when your mom knocked on the door.  
“Come in” you said pausing the series.  
She put her head in. “Chris is here.”  
“I’m sleeping” you said, but before you could go back to the show, you heard his voice.  
“You know I can hear you, right?” He didn’t sound annoyed, he was amused.  
You looked at your mom in horror and she opened the door shrugging her shoulders looking sorry. Chris entered, handsome as always, a small sweet smile on his lips, his backpack on one shoulder and a bouquet of amaryllis in his hand. Your mom closed the door leaving the two of you alone. He dropped the backpack and nodded towards your bed. “Can I?”  
You nodded looking at him surprised but you gave him some space next to you. He offered you the flowers and got comfortable next to you. You took them surprised. Once he had sat next to you, he looked back at you who had been staring at him the whole time. “What?”  
“You aren’t angry?” you asked hesitantly.  
He shook his head. “I was worried, I thought I had fucked everything up somehow but then Noora told me everything and I thought that if you have doubts about yourself it is because I don’t tell you how beautiful and smart and precious you are for me enough” he explained.  
You looked at him agape. He smiled amused at your expression. He put a lock of your hair behind you ear and kissed you sweetly. Your eyes closed without you giving any command. The kiss wasn’t long but it was enough to unsettle every part of your body, from your stomach to your head passing through your heart. You opened your eyes again and looked at him. He bumped his nose against yours. “I like your nose, is so cute” he said making you smile.  
You took a deep breath. “I... I’m sorry for avoiding and ignoring you and it’s not your fault if I am insecure. I learnt to ignore all those mean comments, but sometimes it’s too much, you know?” you tried to explain. He nodded and caressed your cheek. “I understand, just please when something happens talk to me, don’t cut me out” he pleaded. You nodded. “I’m sorry” you whispered putting your head on his chest and looking at the flowers still in your hand. He squeezed you to his body and kissed your head. “It’s okay. I love you and this will never change.”  
“I love you too” you whispered back, a smile you hadn’t even noticed was now on your lips matching the one on his.

**Author's Note:**

> Meanings of the flowers
> 
> Red rose: love  
> Burgundy rose: beauty  
> Red tulip: declaration of love  
> Moss rose: love confession  
> Sunflower: devotion  
> Bluebell: perseverance  
> Striped carnation: reject  
> Daisy: faithful love  
> Common dandelion: loyalty  
> Scorpion grasses: undying loyalty  
> Gladiolus: date  
> Amaryllis: brilliant beauty


End file.
